Pawson poised to miss out on finals

BARRING a miracle Heywood wicket-keeper batsman Danny Pawson is certain to miss out on finals action for his Australian club side Croydon in March. Croydon were just one win off the top four in sixth at the turn of the year but consecutive defeats have left Pawson’s team-mates languishing in ninth place on the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association first eleven ladder.

BARRING a miracle Heywood wicket-keeper batsman Danny Pawson is certain to miss out on finals action for his Australian club side Croydon in March.

Croydon were just one win off the top four in sixth at the turn of the year but consecutive defeats have left Pawson’s team-mates languishing in ninth place on the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association first eleven ladder.

Pawson, who is flourishing in his first season of club cricket ‘Down Under,’ believes inconsistency has finally caught up with his team-mates.

"As a team we haven’t played our best cricket consistently enough so after the new year I knew we had to win every game to make the top four after a poor first half of the season before Christmas," Pawson said.

"It’s disappointing but all we can do now is to try and win every game between now and the end of the season and finish the summer on a good note."

Pawson, currently sitting in third place on the Sub-District batting averages with 220 runs from eight two-day innings at 27.50, is scheduled to fly back to Heywood in mid-March in time for the start of pre-season training.

The teenager believes Heywood have the class to win the Central Lancashire League title for the third time in five seasons and retain the John Willie Lees Twenty20 Cup this summer.

"I believe that even with the loss of Tom Hardman and Will Purser it will still be another successful year for us," Pawson said.

"We will have a new pro and will be good for the side to have only one professional after all of the chopping and changing last year which was unsettling.

"There is still a lot of young talent at the club a we saw from the performances of Tom Blundell last season as well as the likes of Dale Latham who broke into the team towards the end of last season.

"There will also be a new overseas amateur at the club next year and he could perform better than we expect and score a few runs and hopefully take a few wickets.

"Some of our players may have left the club but our winning mentality won’t change."